FEISTY businesswoman Saira Khan last week had some inspiring words for the borough's entrepreneurs.

The 2005 runner-up of TV's The Apprentice was the special guest at a gala dinner at The Hampshire Centrecourt in Chineham to launch INSPIRE06.

The evening preceded Wednesday's exhibition and series of seminars, aimed at helping people to develop and grow their businesses.

And Ms Khan was able to offer some good advice based on her own experience.

The gregarious television personality and newspaper columnist spoke of her time on The Apprentice, jostling to win the chance to work for one of Britain's top entrepreneurs, Sir Alan Sugar.

Having later turned down an opportunity to work for Sir Alan, Ms Khan has just launched her own business, Miamoo, selling a range of natural baby skincare products.

But despite 15 years of experience working for world-renowned blue-chip brands such as Yell and Colgate-Palmolive, she admits she is still learning.

"I've had to discover what it's like to be a one-man band," she said.

"I didn't really know how much a local authority can actually help out and how services like Business Link are there to help and can really facilitate small businesses."

Ms Khan also picked up a few tips during the evening, while discussing her difficulties in finding a suitably skilled person to work for her new business.

Citing an earlier conversation with Basingstoke businessman Gary Livingstone, who was finding it difficult to recruit apprentices for his two companies, MiniTec UK and LG Motion, based in Bessemer Park, she said: "It was only through Business Link and BCOT, and working in partnership with them, that he realised he would be able to find some staff who would be of value to him.

"So now I'm going to go back to Hammersmith council and say, Excuse me, what's happening with my local colleges?'."

Ms Khan stressed that fellow business people are a good source of information and advice, adding: "It's amazing how the entrepreneurial community helps each other.

"They have all gone through the same journey and can relate to your obstacles and the way you want to grow, how hard it is to get people and things like how difficult it is to find offices."